Piano accordion



J. PALMER PIANO ACCORDION Filed Sept. 22 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 fines Pa; Imel- Jill-7 ATTORZV'EY Jan, 6. 1925.

J. PALMER PIANO ACCORDION Filed Sept. 22, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INYEN TOR MI'JVEiSGEASt HTS A TTQENEY Jdmes .Palmez' Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

v UNITED STATES JAMES PALMER, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

PIANQ accoanrotu'q Application filed September 22, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES PALMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano Accordions, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to musical instruments and more particularly to accordions.

The object of the invention is to provide a piano accordion of novel and simple construction which can be produced from some light weight metal, such as aluminum, whereby the majority of the parts can be die cast or molded, in lieu of the parts being of wood or other materials ordinarily employed in the manufacture of accordions, and which require careful joining of the ends, sides and other parts and result in a structure which quickly gets into a condition of disrepair; which cannot warp or in any way effect the playing of the instrument in a detrimental way, and in which there will be a minimum of deterioration and wear.

This object, and other advantageous ends which will be described hereinafter, I attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a plan view of a piano accordion constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 2 is an end view,

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking toward the piano in part.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a face view of the keyboard partly in section,

Figure 6 is a back view of the piano in part,

Figure 7 is a face view of the base section,

Figure 8 is an edge view of the base section,

Figure 9 is a sectional View taken on the line. 99 of Figure 7 and Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 1010 of Figure 7.

Referring to the drawings, the improved accordion includes a treble casing section 1 composed of a front, back and side walls in the form of a rectangular box cast or molded from some light metal such as aluminum, forming a wind chest and having a Serial No. 589,895.

part of the piano mechanism except part I tegral with the Walls of the casing near its outer side. A series of reed holders 5, preferably of light weight cast metal, such as aluminum, are mounted upon the inside of partition 4 and support reed plates 6 and reeds 7 of the usual or any preferred con struction. The reed holders are provided with the usual apertures 8, and resistors 9, in the form of thin metallic strips, co-operate with these apertures to regulate the strength of the tones and to change the pitch or tone.

A. piano mechanism P including keyboard 10 and a cover section 11 are secured to section 1, the keyboard being secured to extended parts of the side walls and resting against the back wall as shown in Figures 1 to 4. The keyboard is provided with apertured division walls 12, which extend partly across its width. Piano keys 13 and 14 are disposed between walls 12 and a removable pivot pin 15 extends from one end of the piano board to the other and through apertures in the keys and walls, to pivotally support the keys.

The keys. are provided with arms 16 and cupped cast metal valves 17, are mounted on the ends of these arms to co-operate with the apertures in partition 4 and reed holders 5. Actuating means, of the usual or any preferred type, is mounted upon keyboard 10 to slide resistors 9, and as shown. includes a rocker shaft 18 having arms 19 connected to common ends of the resistors, as through the medium of raised sockets thereon, and to a connecting rod 20 extending along partition 4 in section 1. A lever 21 is connected to rod 20, and a slide 22 is mounted on the back of the keyboard to operate the lever and shift the resistors. Section 11 forms a cover to close the valves, parts of the keys and parts of the resistor operating means. Springs 23 normally hold valves 17 closed but permit them to be raised upon depressing the keys.

A bass casing section 24 is secured to the other end of the bellows and preferably consists of a casting having a flange 25 through which the connection is made so that the bellows joins together or forms a connecting means between the treble and bass sections 1 and 24. Bass section 24 is composed of a front, back and a pair of side walls which house the bass mechanism and is provided with a partition 26 integral with the walls near the inner side of the casing and on which reed holders 27 and the bass mechanism are mounted. Reed holders 27 are constructed like the reed holders 5, being preferably provided with reed plates, reeds and apertures in the usual way, the reeds co-operating with the apertures in use.

The bass mechanism B includes the reeds and valves 28 co-operating with apertures in partition 26 and a mounting including adjustable and removable brackets 29, an inclined apertured plate 30 and bass keys 31 by which valves 28 are actuated, as are valves 17, to control the air passing to and from the bellows in playing the instrument, permits removal of the mechanism as a unit or of the individual parts thereof. The front wall 32 of bass casing 24 is formed to provide a space for the bass keys, and having flanges 32 at either side of the space at which inclined plate 30 is positioned The outside of section 24 is open to permit the emission of sounds but may be closed by providin a shoulder 32 around the outer edge of the casing and mounting a perforated cover plate 33 on the shoulder.

Piano keyboard 10, cover section 11 and ornamental plate 33 are detachable, while sections 1 and 24 may be detached from bellows 3. A connection is provided between sections 1 and 24 to prevent extension of the bellows when collapsed and the device is not in use. This connection may be of any preferred construction but preferably comprises a strap 34 to which a hook 335 is pivoted, and a strap 36 having a pin 37 with which the hook engages to detachably connect sections 1 and 24 when the bellows is collapsed but permit disconnection whereby the instrument may be operated.

The reed holders are detachably mounted on partitions 4 and 26 within the wind chests and bellows and the bass mechanism may be removed from its casing section 24 so that the keys may be individually or simultaneously removed like the piano keys, except that all of the bass mechanism may be removed as a unit without disassemblin the parts. For this purpose, the bass mec anism includes attaching and bass plates 38 mounted on partition 26 through the medium of'fasteners 39 and adjustable connections 40 permitting the bass mechanism to be detached and removed as an entirety upon disconnecting the parts in section 24 from upon the apertured plate or web produced by partition 26. By this means, manufacture, assembly and disassemblage, and repair or replacements, is greatly facilitated, the number of parts reduced to a minimum and the likelihood of warping, injury or breakage to the parts or otherwise getting out of order, prevented. The device is operated in the usual way upon depressing the piano keys 13 to open valves 17 and keys or buttons 31 to open valves 28, while the bellows is being expanded or contracted to draw or force air through the holes and past the free reeds carried by the reed holders.

While I have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood that the various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence I do not limit myself to the precise construction set forth, but consider that I am at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An accordion including a treble casing composed of front, back and side walls, the back wall and parts of the side walls extending beyond the front wall, and a partition near the outer edge of the front and side walls fixed to the four walls; reed holders mounted on the partition; a keyboard connected to the extending parts of the side walls; keys on the keyboard for controlling the passage of air to the reeds; a bellows connected to the walls of the easing, and bass playing mechanism connected front wall being fromed to provide a space for the bass keys and having flanges, at.

either side of the space, projecting into the casing, a shoulder around the outer edge and a partition fixed to the inner edge of the casing; bass playing mechanism mounted on the partition; an inclined plate mounted against the flanges; keys projecting through the plate and connected to the playing mechanism; a cover plate resting on the shoulder; a bellows connected to the walls of the casing, and treble playing mechanism connected to the bellows.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES PALMER. lVitnesses:

ELIZABETH GARBE, CHAS. E. Po'rrs. 

